Cylinder bearer lubricator



Sept. 28 1943. w. F. HucK 2,330,491

CYLINDER BEARER LUBRICATOR Filed June 4. 1942 I @www Patented Sept. 28, 1943 poration-of New* York 'I'his invention relatesto lubricatorsfforfcof- In the operation of the cooperating i cylinders of a printing couple, such as employed in newspaper, magazine, lithographie, and other printing machines, printing -plates or formsA of predetermined thickness are secured te the plate or form cylinder of veach couple, and suitable impression members, such as 'blankets or; the like, are secured tol the impression cylinder of the couple in such relation that a Weblor rsheet is printed between the plates and impression blanket.v e I f To secure the best results,- the impression blanket should press the materialA being printed against the printing facespf the plates or forms with relatively great pressure. Furthermore, this pressure should be maintained vat a constant value throughout each rotation ofthe printing cylinders,v and in o-rder to constantly ,maintain this printing relationship, bearers are provided at the extremities of each cylinder. Thesebearers are usually rings which are shrunk or otherwise secured on the ends of the eooperatingplate and impression cylinders, and positioned so that the peripheral portion of one bearer has rolling engagement with the periphery of the other, when the printing cylinders are in properprint-v ing relation. l e im ,e l.

To produce this relation, the coactingl bearers are pressed towards each yother under heavy Y,

stress, which stress is sucient to slightly distort or iiatten the contacting portio'nspfv the `bearersl In machines having relatively long printing Icylinders, the pressure between the cylinderskk is sufcient to bow them away from eachother vto some extent, and with the'cylinderl bearingsadf justed 'to produce the required pressure .on the bearers,.the areas of contact of cooperating 'hear-l ers are shifted to-wardtheir outside., edges adja-` cent the ends of the cylinders. Although this bowing or cylinder deflection is very slight, itis nevertheless suflicient to cause the outeredges of cylindrical bearers toV be placed 'under` much greater stress than theirinner edges.A equal stress tends to overloacl'thev I'netal Aof the bearers, so that in time the metalwill'fatigue and' crack at the outer edges of the bearers, and after continued use, these cracks orv breaks extend or spread suciently to cause failure of the bearers. In relatively short printingcylignders,

the deflection of the Vcylindersmay not befsllf.-

.216)V l M u v n M cienttto ,prod/rice..apbreciablyljgreater stress. lat" theputenedgs of the'bearers than elsewhere,

buteven under idealconditions, the bearers arev pressed togetherunder stress that i ws.'suilicienty to atlilor deform vthe vbearers atv their areas at these places..

It :has beenfoundfthat prolonged operation of printing cylinders which" havebearersrunning. together under `printing impression pressure, tends. l to pit and. i ale theunet'al rof :which Vvthe bearers are'. made vand that it'n'ally cracks,- resulting necessiti? forgthereplacemento-f the bearers.. t vresult 'appears tobe dueA to a dis,-y pl acemer'itLv ,or deformation lof the metal V.at the contacting areas of the coo'perating.bearers,4 and. its.`r eplace'ment', or returnvto normal. shape. when the.'pressure'` rpasses beyond tho-se areas. repeated ldisplacement andreturn Vto, normal, causesfatigueand ultimate. failure of the' bearers. 'Lu icaticnof .bearers voperatir'i'g under these conditions allows,the surface metalof each fof a pairof cooperating bearers to betterf accommodate Vitself toV `thefs`urface-inetal of Vthev vother bearer and...reduces` the tendency toward deterioration of theV 'metallic structure; .thereby prowlonging the life of the bearers. Lubricationalso preventseorrosion and keeps thelbearersurface in better condition .to withstanding 1 -,he@chip-'ressive stresses'to which'it isnormally subjected; In addition to .these advantages, lubrication of ithe bearers has beenfoulrideicacious on cere-y: tain vprinting machines doinghigh, class printing, where it is'desiredto'elir'ninate --backlash due to clearance between the teeth of `the'. gears .on the plate', and 'impression cylinders, In Athese ma. cline'sj thellojearer` on thecylinder havingfthe driv n gear mayr be"y purposely made` of5fs1ightly largerA diameter? .than the `bearer on. ther cylinderv ha thejgearfin order to .maintain the driving e in contact at all times, and thereby-prevent clearance presentinl the, gearing devehelopin'g e k "'baclglashthat Iwould affect the printing.- Under Aciondition, although `'there is but a verys'light dferenceinspeed loetweenfthe` peripheralsurfaces Vo'f `tl'lfe coacting bearers, lubril catignwwillprolong r.the lifeof thev bearersQQ n,

n is. ,anjopiect [Qfgthis Lniveinen to protect" the engaging` peripheral vsurfaces'l of cooperating cyl-` inder .bearers loyf. providing a bearer lubricator.

' which'is construetedand.arranged to deposit the l requisite. quantity' of .lubricant suilfacegf a bearer e onthe peripheral AIAnother?,ojloject of {the .is toprovide j @l :llilbltlatm if0..1 Cooperating; printing cylinder of the bearer to convey lubricant from a recep-` tacle through the wick to the bearer periphery.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a lubricator for cooperating printing cylinder bearers running with their peripheral surfaces in rolling engagement, the lubricator being supported at a location adjacent the peripheral portion of a bearer and arranged to support a wick member in a position to yieldingly engage the peripheral portion of the bearer to convey lubricant to the peripheral surface of the bearer from a lubricant receptacle which is arranged for communication with the wick.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a cylinder bearer lubricator of generally improved construction, whereby the device'will be simple, durable and inexpensive` in construction, as well as convenient, practical, serviceablekand efilcientinits use. v a

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in form, proportion, and minor 4details of construction may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any advantages of the invention.

For a complete disclosure of they invention, a detailed description ofrit will be given in connection with the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specication, wherein:

Figure* 1 is an elevation of a conventional printing couple, showing the improved lubricator applied thereto, the'fra'me of the machine being shown in section;

Figure 2 isv aplan view'of the lubricator and its support, a portion of the machine frame being shown in section;

4Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 2; and Y Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view takenon the line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawing, in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts;

C indicates a plate orform cylinder which cooperates with an impression cylinder I of a conventionalprinting couple. The plate cylinder in; dicated is the type employed in magazine presses, although it is to be understood that this invention is applicable to all types of printing machines in which cylinder bearers are employed. Each cylinder is rotatably mounted in bearings S formed in the machine frame F.

The plate cylinder C is provided with printing plates P which cooperate with a conventional blanket K carried by the impression cylinder I to produce printing impressions between the plates P and the blanket K. The plates P do not extend sufficiently around the cylinder C to cause their axial edges to abut, consequently an axiallydisposed gap G is left between the adjacent plates P. While the printing faces of the plateP` are in engagement with the blanket K,the cylinders may rotate with their axes in uniform radial spaced relation, but when the gaps G engage the blanket K, the impression pressure is momentarily released and the faces of the cylinders tend to approach each other until the gap G has passed the bite of the cylinders, when the normal impression pressure is again established.

'I'his objectionable relative radial movement of the printing cylinders of a `printing couple is usually prevented by locating a conventional cylinder bearer B at each end of each cylinder of a printing couple, so that the bearers run in rolling engagement.

To produce the requisite printing impression pressure between the cooperating plate and form cylinders of a printing couple, suiicient pressure is exerted on the peripheral portions of the cooperating bearers B to deform these bearers at their bite portions, and this deformation frequently produces cracks or breaks in the bearer surfaces which finally result in bearer failure, "In order to reduce or eliminate such failures, applicant proposes to lubricate the peripheral portions of the cooperating bearers, and, to this end, there is provided a lubricator for each pair ofcooperating bearers B in a printing couple, but in an arrangement where more than two bearers ru'n in cooperable relation, then one or more lubricators may be provided for each cooperatingl set of bearers. Each lubricator includes a supporting rod I8-, which has a threaded terminal I I received within athreadedraperture I2 formed in a side member of the machine frame F, as best lseen in Figuresl'and 2. A lock or jarnb nut I3 is threadedly secured to the threaded terminal portion II of each supporting rod Ill,` and this nut engages the inner face of the side memberV of the machine frame F in order to rigidly secure the supporting rod I D to the machine frame.

A rectangular'supporting member or block I5 is provided for each lubricator, and each block has a longitudinally-extending cylindrical recess I6 formedV therein for the reception of a supporting rod Il), and this supporting block is secured to-its lsupporting rod I0 by a set screw Il, or other suitable securing member. A longitudinally-extending rectangular recess I8 is formed in each block I5, and this recess extends inwardly from one longitudinal edge of the block for the reception of a rectangular lubricator wick or strip 20, which is preferably formed of wicking, felt or other suitable material. The lower face ofthe lubricator strip 26 is engaged and supported by a strip 2l preferably formed of resilient metal, and this supporting strip 2I is of the same rectangular configuration as the lubricator strip 2li except it is narrower in order that its`outer axially-extending edge 22 terminates short of the outer axially-extending edge 23 of the lubricatorstrip 2li, so that a relatively narrow unsupported axially-extending portion 25 of the lubricator wick or strip 2B projects beyond the Supporting strip 2 I. The lubricator strip or wick 2D is secured to the supporting block I5 within its receiving recess I8 by screws 26, which are received within threaded apertures 21 formed in the upper portion of the block I 5,' and the lower terminal of each screw 25 engages the upper face of the lubricator strip 20, as best seen in Figure 3.

Arlubricator cup 3'is provided, and this cup has a neck `3I which extends from Vthe lower terminalof the cup, and this neck is provided with'a'threaded lower terminal 32 (Figure 4),

which is received within a threaded aperture 33 formed in the upper portion of the supporting block I intermediate its longitudinal terminals. The neck 3l is provided with a feed aperture or conduit 35 which extends longitudinally through the neck and communicates the interior of the lubricator cup 30 with the lubricator wick 20.

In operation, a lubricator is located at each side of the machine adjacent one of the cooperating bearers of a printing couple in order that the outer longitudinal edge 23 of each lubricator strip or wick 20 engages the peripheral face of one of the bearers B of a pair of cooperating bearers of a printing couple. Each lubricator is preferably located so that its wick or strip 20 engages the bearer along a horizontal plane that passes through the axis of the bearer and its supporting cylinder. Although this is a preferred arrangement, it is to be understood, of course, that the lubricator strip may engage any accessible portion of the bearer periphery. When the bearer supporting cylinders are disposed in horizontal arrangement, as depicted in Figure l, each lubricator strip 20 may engage either bearer of a cooperating pair, but when the cooperating bearers are arranged so that one bearer is located above the other, the lubricator is preferably located \to engage the upper bearer.

The lubricant from the lubricator receptacle 39 is conveyed through the conduit 35 to the upper surface of the lubricator wick 2U, and the characteristics of this wick are such that the lubricant will be fed through its outer longitudinal edge 23 in a uniform film over the peripheral portion of the engaging bearer B, and this bearer, in turn, conveys the lubricant to the cooperating bearer, so that the contact portions of the cooperating bearers are lubricated to thereby aid in preventing bearer failure.

When lubricating the conventional cylindrical bearers B, as shown in Figure 1, the outer edge 23 of each lubricator strip or wick is made straight, as shown, in order to properly engage the cylindrical peripheral face of the bearer. If, however, the periphery of the bearer is shaped otherwise, the end of the lubricator strip may be correspondingly shaped.

It will be understood that the invention herein disclosed may be embodied in other specific forms Without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a printing machine, the combination with 5 cooperating cylinder bearers having peripheral faces and adapted to rotate with their peripheral faces in rolling engagement under pressure, of a yieldable lubricating wick supported in wiping engagement with the peripheral face of a bearer, and l0 means for supplying lubricant to the wick whereby the wick deposits the requisite quantity of lubricant on the peripheral face of the bearer to provide a lubricant cushion and to reduce friction at the contacting areas of the cooperating bearers.

2. In a printing machine, the combination with cooperating cylinder bearers having peripheral faces and adapted to rotate with their peripheral faces in rolling engagement under pressure, of a yieldable lubricating wick, means for supporting the wick in wiping engagement with the peripheral face of a bearer, and means for supplying lubricant to the wick whereby the wickdeposits the requisite quantity of lubricant on the peripheral face of the bearer to provide a lubricant cushion and to reduce friction at the contacting areas of the cooperating bearers.

3. In a printing machine, the combination with cooperating cylinder bearers having peripheral faces and adapted to rotate with their peripheral faces in rolling engagement under pressure, of a yieldable lubricating wick, a resilient strip for supporting the wick in wiping engagement with the peripheral face of a bearer, and means for supplying lubricant to the wick whereby the wick deposits the requisite quantity of lubricant on the peripheral face of the bearer to provide a lubricant cushion and to reduce friction at the contacting areas of the cooperating bearers.

4. In a printing machine, cooperating cylinder bearers having peripheral faces and adapted to rotate with their peripheral faces in rolling engagement, a fixed supporting member, a yieldable lubricating wick secured to the supporting member and supported in wiping engagement with the peripheral face of the bearer, a lubricant receptacle rigidly secured to the fixed supporting member and communicated with the wick whereby the wick deposits the requisite quantity of lubricant on the peripheral face of the bearer to provide a. lubricant cushion and to reduce friction at the contacting areas of the cooperating bearers.

WILLIAM F. HUCK. 

